Thursday, August 31, 2017

There was this astounding headline Monday in the
Washington Post: "Black-clad antifa members attack peaceful right-wing
demonstrators in Berkeley."

Put aside the question of how the Post determined that
the demonstrators were "right-wing." What makes the headline remarkable
is that a major liberal newspaper finally and accurately denounced the
thugs. Antifa may be short for "anti-fascist," but it is in fact just
the opposite.

The Los Angeles Times soon chimed in, decrying "violence
by far-left protesters." And on MSNBC, of all places, Joe Scarborough
blasted the antifa goons as "fascists in their behavior."

A few far-left politicians have also joined the
anti-antifa chorus. Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin, who actually
applauded the mob that shut down Milo Yiannopoulos in February, now
wants antifa officially classified as a gang. "They come dressed in
uniforms," he observed, "and they have weapons, almost like a militia."
Hey, Mayor Arreguin, good of you to finally notice.

And the most stunning turnaround came Tuesday, when
Democrat Nancy Pelosi issued a statement condemning the "people calling
themselves antifa." She added that they "deserve unequivocal
condemnation."

What makes all this notable is that just over a week ago
Reuters referred to the antifa agitators as "peace activists," while
Democrats refused to say anything mean about the masked warriors. So
what happened to turn the tide? Let us put forth some educated
speculation.

First, professor and philosopher Noam Chomsky openly
questioned antifa's goals and tactics. Chomsky, always anti-capitalist
and often anti-American, has been the guru of the radical left for
decades. When he speaks, progressives listen.

Two weeks ago Chomsky described antifa as "a miniscule
fringe of the Left," and called their violence "a major gift to the
right." The professor also hammered antifa for shutting down speakers
with whom it disagrees.

A few days later, professor and attorney Alan
Dershowitz, another lion of the left, warned that antifa-like groups are
"trying to tear down America." He denigrated antifa as "radical,
anti-American, anti-free market, socialist, communist, hard left
censorial organization."

All this criticism was pre-Berkeley, which was another
black mark against the black clad antifa crew. Last weekend the
left-wing gangsters assaulted a handful of people who gathered in
Berkeley to march against Marxism.

The antifa radicals, their faces masked as always,
chased and beat down people whom they considered Trump supporters. It
was an especially ugly scene, even by antifa standards, after which more
than a dozen radicals were arrested.

If antifa and other self-styled anti-fascist groups
occupied the moral high ground after Charlottesville, they surrendered
it last weekend in Berkeley.

But perhaps the biggest reason for the recent opinion
shift is old-fashioned politics. Democrats can read polls as well as
anyone else, probably better. They know that most Americans do not are
repulsed by masked marauders running wild in the streets. That could
explain Nancy Pelosi's surprising statement. She desperately wants a
Democratic majority in 2018, and she won't get it by ignoring or
endorsing violence.

In the Senate, the two darlings of the far left –
Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders – have yet to call out antifa by
name, although Senator Sanders did speak out against lefties who shout
down campus speakers.

Antifa will always have supporters, especially on elite
campuses. A Dartmouth lecturer named Mark Bray has become a frequent
guest on mainstream networks, where he rationalizes and defends
violence. Dartmouth's president actually criticized Bray for
"supporting violent protest," a rare show of courage from a university
administrator. Naturally, the left-wing Dartmouth faculty was angry not
with Bray, but with the president.

But college professors aside, antifa may have overplayed
its ugly hand with all the recent violence and vitriol. Pay close
attention the next time there are masked antifa protesters fomenting
violence and pelting cops with urine.

Law enforcement, which once looked the other way, might
step in to quickly stop the madness. And Democrats, who were once
acquiescent, might rise up in unison to denounce antifa.

That may be wishful thinking, but it would be a very welcome sign in extremely troubled times.

Monday, August 28, 2017

Friday, August 25, 2017

In an unsurprising turn, officials in the District of Columbia have decided to continue to defend their near total ban on the right to bear arms. On Thursday, D.C. filed a petition for rehearing en banc with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in the combined cases of Grace v. D.C. and Wrenn v. D.C.

As we reported last month, the D.C. Circuit struck down the District’s restrictive handgun permitting law that required applicants to show a “good” or “proper” reason for needing to carry a concealed handgun. Under this system, D.C. officials have denied all but a few applicants their right to carry a firearm for personal protection.

The District’s 61 pages of arguments for why the right to bear arms shouldn’t apply in the nation’s capital can be summed up in a single reason: “we’re different.” D.C.’s petition to the court begins by claiming that “[t]he District of Columbia is unique” and “[u]nlike any city, it is filled with thousands of high-ranking federal officials and international diplomats, and it hosts hundreds of heavily attended events each year, including political marches and protests.” The District’s 61 pages of arguments for why the right to bear arms shouldn’t apply in the nation’s capital can be summed up in a single reason: “we’re different.”

Apparently, in the minds of D.C. officials, this “uniqueness” should allow the District to infringe on the civil rights of its residents and visitors who wish to exercise their right to bear arms. It’s unclear if D.C. officials believe that this ability to trample on civil rights allows them to restrict any of our other constitutional rights or just those rights protected by the Second Amendment.

Fortunately, the D.C. Circuit panel already refused to give any weight to the District’s “we’re special” arguments. If the full Circuit decides to rehear this case, you’re NRA will continue to advocate for the right of all law-abiding Americans to carry a firearm for self-defense.

Friday, August 18, 2017

President Trump is often ahead of the curve when it comes to various cultural issues. Yesterday morning and during his ill-advised press conference, the president said, "First it's Robert E. Lee. Then it's George Washington and Thomas Jefferson."

He's right. In spite of their contributions to our founding, Washington and Jefferson were slave owners, and there are growing calls for monuments to both men to be destroyed. But this was one of the times when Donald Trump was behind the curve.

He left out Abraham Lincoln, a bust of whom was destroyed in Chicago last night. It was also spray painted with the words "F-ck law." The same phrase was painted on the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., earlier this week. This is the hate-filled anarchy the left has unleashed.

Earlier this week, we shared a Vice video that captured the imagery of the Neo-Nazis who marched in the Charlottesville horror show. Vice might want to look in the mirror because it has come down on the side of the book burners and their equivalent.

Yesterday, Vice ran a story originally entitled, "Let's Blow Up Mount Rushmore." It eventually apologized and retitled the story, but the headline was the least of the problem.

In the column, senior editor Wilbert Cooper makes it clear that America is evil and must be torn down and rebuilt. And that cannot be done unless we knock down the evil foundation of America. Consider these excerpts:

"It's hard to be critical of a system when that system becomes an article of faith, filled with myths (the cherry tree), deities (Founding Fathers), and notions of salvation (the City on a Hill). It's going to be impossible to improve America if we can't be honest about its origins and its past. . . it seems unthinkable that we will ever see a day when there is a serious push to blow up Rushmore and other monuments like it. But if that moment ever arrives, I suspect I'd be onboard."

So until monuments to the men who crafted the greatest constitutional republic in the world are destroyed, and until the concept of American exceptionalism is destroyed, Cooper and other members of the American Taliban will continue to press their attacks on America and the West.

There are deep divisions within the conservative movement regarding Donald Trump. But by all measurements, the grassroots remains overwhelmingly on his side.

To my fellow conservatives and "#NeverTrumpers" in our movement: Can you direct some of your energy used to bash Trump and start calling out the leftists whose stated goal is to completely destroy America and who are telling our children and grandchildren that they are living in an evil country?

For those liberals who are legitimately concerned about Putin and Russia: It is time to start asking why members of various radical communist groups are leading the mobs we have seen in places like Durham, North Carolina.

To Senator John McCain: Did I miss your speech condemning the radical leftists who are trying to destroy the country you defended in Vietnam? You do remember, I assume, that the mobs today attacking American memorials are cut from the same cloth as the people who spat on you and the brave men who served with you in Vietnam.

If Donald Trump is for making American great again, does that really mean that everyone who doesn't care for him must be non-combatants in the culture war to destroy America?

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

In the 1960s, China's communist rulers literally declared war against Chinese history, habits and symbols as Mao Zedong and his revolutionaries attempted to fundamentally transform China in their image. It ripped the social fabric of China. More than a million people were killed.

A similar cultural revolution may be underway in America. Last night, a mob tore down and destroyed a monument to a Southern soldier in Durham, North Carolina. According to local media reports, the mob was led by anti-fascists, the Democratic Socialists of America and the communist World Workers Party.

The fringe left is on fire. Its seething hatred of America has been unleashed. "Charlottesville is just the beginning," one far left website declared. Another proudly proclaims that "capitalism is in crisis" and "The American state is collapsing."

I am glad the North won the Civil War. But I am disgusted by the left's desire to purge our history. I am sickened by the left's disrespect for property. And I am outraged by the left's eagerness to suppress opinions it disagrees with.

The left's tendency toward totalitarianism and violent behavior is dangerous. It must be resisted just as vehemently as the racism of the KKK.

Will any reporter today ask Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer or Elizabeth Warren to denounce the Communist Party and the mob violence against historical landmarks?

Carried to its logical conclusion, eventually mobs will be marching on Monticello and Constitution Hall. Al Sharpton is on the record already. He said that the Jefferson Memorial cannot be permitted to stand as a publicly funded national monument.

Ultimately, this isn't about Southern slave owners in the 1oda850s. The far left hates America -- all of it, North and South, now. Our schools all too often are not teaching American history. They are teaching anti-American history.

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About the Blog and Me

I am 47 years old, living in the Pacific Northwest. I grew up in Kennewick, Boise, and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. I have lived in every major US city. I am a gunsmith, artist, writer, musician, farmer, ordained minister, and political blogger. Former truck driver, shrimper, logger, and Navy guy.

Damon's Favorite Quotes

The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority. The second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority. The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking.

“When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.” Thomas Jefferson.

Those who would sacrifice liberty for a temporary convenience deserve neither. Ben Franklin

The heart of the wise inclines to the Right, but the heart of the fool to the Left. Ecclesiastes 10:2 (the Bible)

I didn't claw my way to the top of the food chain to eat vegetables. Damon

My beliefs are born from pain, not politics. Damon

While all ideas have a right to be heard, none has an automatic right to be respected. Pat Buchanan

Since the 1980s there has been a great increase in the right to behave badly and an equal decrease in the freedom to behave normally

When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

If you need to bring in a business partner, make sure your partner brings along some money.

Remember that what's right isn't always popular, and what is popular isn't always right.

Politics is too important to be left to the politicians.

Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. Coach Lou Holtz

If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything. Unknown Author

One man with courage is a majority. Andrew Jackson

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. Eleanor Roosevelt

It's not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are. Roy Disney

Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. Confucious